PUBG Will Remove Keyboard And Mouse Support On Consoles

If you've been pwning noobs in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on the Xbox One from the comfort of a mouse and keyboard, we've got some bad news for you. It sounds like the developers will be axing support for those peripherals soon.

Over on Twitter, user FooVanCleef posed a question regarding the use of a mouse and keyboard on the Xbox One version of PUBG. Their argument was that they were "pretty sure" they got bested by a mouse and keyboard user on the console, and wondered if any measure was being taken to address that. PUBG Community Coordinator RoboDanjal offered a response.

We have been gathering in-game information regarding Third Party device usage over the past few months. Although usage of these devices is statistically very low, fair gameplay is core to our experience, and we will be communicating our plan to curb the use of these devices soon.

So, according to Mr. Robo, it looks like folks are definitely using a mouse and keyboard while playing PUBG on the Xbox One, even if that number is apparently pretty low. In other words, it's entirely possible FooVanCleef was simply trounced by a better player using a controller. Still, whether or not they were in fact bested by a mouse and keyboard user, RoboDanjal admits it is an issue.

He goes on to state that fair gameplay is important in PUBG, which is why the team will be working to "curb" the use of a mouse and keyboard on consoles soon. This is certainly an interesting take. Some would argue that, since anyone can use a mouse and keyboard on the Xbox One, how is that not fair to those who choose to stick to a gamepad? On the other hand, since the vast, vast majority of folks are using a gamepad, you could argue that it's a bit unfair that some players are using peripherals many argue are far more precise than your basic analog sticks.

We figure this all boils down to trying to keep the game universal, since a lot of players take it very seriously. In other words, by blocking support for mouse and keyboard, players will now know there's no chance the player who bested them was using other peripherals, thus removing even the question of an "unfair advantage."

Still, if you'll allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment here, some would argue that certain types of specialized controllers or even analog stick extenders can give players an advantage in games like PUBG. I suppose it's a matter of the developers just trying to manage what they can control. They can control what is allowed once it's plugged into the console, which is why they'll be buckling down on that front. Still, can't folks playing on PC use a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard?

Either way, nobody on PC is complaining about players using a controller. Console players, though, seem pretty upset that some players are using a mouse and keyboard. So we can't really fault the PUBG team for responding to the community and trying to make the game as level across the board as possible.